Wheel and mounting assembly



1953 c. o. CHRISTENSEN 2,647,277

WHEEL AND MOUNTING ASSEMBLY 7 Filed Jan. 5, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IVENTOR. CARL 0. CHRISTENSEN Arromvsrs Aug. 4, 1953 c. o. CHRISTENSEN2,647,277 WHEEL AND MOUNTING ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 3, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet2 INVENTOR. 6m 0. (Mari/w! BY Patented Aug. 4, 1953 UNITED STATESPATENT: Norrie;-it f 2,647,277 i WHEEL AND MOUNTING ASSEDIBLY Carl 0.Christensen, Walnut Creek, Calif., as-

signor to Roll-Rite Corporation, Oakland, Calm, a corporation ofCalifornia I 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a wheel and mountin assembl in the d sign ofcasters and other wheeled devices for use with trucks carrying largeloads, such as hand trucks, lift trucks and trucks used on airports tocarry luggage and the like, simplicity of construction is, of course, adesideratum. Also, a sturdy structure is desirable which is capable ofsustaining hard blows and generally rough treatment without disalignmentof the king pin or damage to or breakage of other parts.

It is an object o the present invention to provide an improved form ofwheel and mounting assembly.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a wheel and mountingassembly or. the like of sturdy, simple construction which is capable ofsustaining heavy loads and roughtreatment, 1ncluding sharp blows,without disalignment of the parts or breakage.

These and other objects of the invention W111 be apparent from theensuing description and the appended claims. H I

Certain forms which the invention may assume are exemplified in thefollowing description and illustrated by way of example in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in section, of awheel and mounting assembly, embodying the design features of the1nvention.

Fig. 2 is an and elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken along the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 i a view similar to that of Fig. 1 but of a different type ofwheel, of non-swiveling, noncaster type.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view, smular to that of Fig. 1, showing amodified form of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in section, ofstill another and preferredform of caster wheel.

Fig. 7 is an end elevational View of the same.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly Figs. 1, 2, and 3,there is shown a wheel and mounting assembly generally designated as I0comprising the usual rubber-tired wheel I I and forks I2. Also shown arethe usual base plate I3, king pin I4 and roller bearings I5. It will beseen that the roller bearings I5, which are of conical shape and of wellknown design, are spaced apart by a flange I6 formed on a collar I I,and that. the bearings are held in place against axial displacement by anut I8. In the usual constructionlof a caster wheel of this type, thecollar I1 is ri'g is supported upon and is revoluble upon a flange 25formed on a sleeve 26, such sleeve being welded to the upper ends of theforks rubber 2'! is disposed within the annular space 20,

being firmly secured to'the inner collar I I and by any suitable means,preteriably by vulcanization. The rubber used may be the outer collar I9 natural rubber or a synthetic rubber, and pref-' erably it is neoprenerubber. I

Referring now to Fig. 4 there is shown an 0rdinary non-caster,non-swiveling type of wheel comprising a rubber-tired" wheel I I, baseplate I3 and king pin The king pin an inner collar collar I9a toprovidean annular space 20a. The outer collar I9a is supported upon and isrevoluble upon a flange 25a formed on a sleeve 26a which is rigidlysecured to or is integral with the forks I 2 of the wheel. A nut 28threaded onto the lower end of the king pin lllserves to hold theassembly together. 7 Referring now to Fig. 5, there is shown a modifiedform of caster wheel embodying my invention, and in which an innercollar 40 and an outer collar II inner collar I1 and outer collar ofFig. l.

and the outer collar II with an annularfiange 43 which rests upon and isrevoluble upon a sleeve 44. This construction is'better adapted to holdthe rubber annulus 45 firmly in place.

Referring again to Fig. 1, as indicated, the collars I I and I9 and thesleeve 26 are spaced a substantial distance 1 below the bottom surfaceof the base plate I3, and the forks I2 are offset in the usual manner soas to allow castering.;of the wheel. When the wheel strikes anobjecticausing impact thereagainst, the force is absorbed by the rubberannulu 27. For example, if the wheel II sustains a blow causing anangular displacement of the forks I2 through an angle 0, as indicated,the sleeve 26 and the outer collar I9 will be angularly displaced to asimilar degree. Such displacement is limited only by the distance fl?and, as will be seen, the linear displacement L 0t I2 or, if desired,';beingintegral therewith. An annular layer of I4 as in the caster Wheelof Fig. 1. I4 is keyed by means of a key 35 to Ila which is spacedf-roman outer are provided, which are similarfto the I9, respectively,However, in this modification the in ner collar is provided with anannular flange 42,

blow delivered in any direction against the caster wheel is very muchlarger than the distance 1.

It will thus be apparent that a shock absorbing means is provided whichis operable to absorb a the wheel H. Such means is operable to sustain avery severe blow. resulting in, a relatively great displacement of thewheel H. Yet at all times the king pin H is maintained in truealignment, being subjected to relatively little stress unless of coursean unusually severe blow is encountered in excess of the designedperformance of the structure.

Referring to Fig. 4, it will be apparent that the rubber annulus 21a ofthe wheelthere illustrated will function in a similar manner. The wheelof Fig. 4 is not, of course, a caster wheel. Nevertheless, when itsustains a blow (which, in wheels of the usual design, would betransmitted to the king pin l4) the force thereof will be absorbed bythe rubber annulus 21a. It will also be apparent that the structure ofFig. 5 will function similarly.

Referring now to Figs. 6. and. 7, there is shown a caster wheelgenerally designated as 50. This structure comprises. forks. 5i. havingspaced holes 52 formed therein. for receiving the axle 53 of aflatfaceiwheelfl. The forks 5| are integral with a. lower plate-55 towhich is vulcanized a layer of neoprene rubber 56. An upper plate 5-1 issimilarly bonded to the rubber layer 56. A base plate is, provided,being rotatably mounted on the upper plate 51 by means of a king pin59-, a nut 50 and a. flanged collar 65. As illustrated, a bearing race66 is; formed in the upper plate 51, and races 8.! in theupper plate 5'!and base plate 5!, and ball bearings 68 seated in the bearing racesprovide a rotatable mounting for the caster wheel.

. This form, of caster wheel is especially advantageous for use with aflat face wheel, as illustrated, Such wheels. are used to support veryheavy loads and have metal tires. Such wheels do; not follow an unevenfloor properly, and they tend to pound afloor, thus causing damage to.the wheel, thevehicle, the load and/or the floor. With thestructure ofFigs. 6 and: 7, however, the resilient layer of rubber gives in alldirections, thus. absorbing a. blow delivered in any direction.The-wheel follows thecontour of afloor accurately and evenly.Anadditional advantage is provided by the spaced holes 52. -If greaterstrength is desired, it is bolted. in the inner holes The rubber used inthe various caster wheels described hereinabove is preferably neoprenerubher because ofits, oil resistance, and it is bonded" to the adjacentmetal members. by any suitable means, preferably however byvulcanization.

It-is. thus apparent that a wheel structure, applicable to casterwheels, and non-caster wheels, hasbeen provided which is simple ofdesign, easily fabricated, and easily assembled and disassembled. Metalto metal contact is completely eliminated. Among other advantages ofthis simplificd structure are the fact that, with a caster wheel; as theload pressure increases, the offset of the-wheelalso increases, thusallowing the wheel tofollow an uneven floor more freely. Misalignmeritof the king pins and hearings will not occur-unless, of course,unusually severe shocks are encountered. Thus, high speed operation ispossible as onan airport where trucks of heavily loaded vehicles arepulled at high speed over rough ground. The wheel and lower portions ofthe fork are full floating, thus absorbing up and downshockas-well asside blows. The structure allows horizontal movement of the wheel underload so that the load is over an obstruction and the wheel follows thetension of the rubber, thus eliminating jars and jolts to the truck andoperator. Also, the structure described permits the use of flat, metaltired wheels on concrete floors without undue likelihood of damage tothe concrete. As stated, when a heavily loaded truck having metal tiredwheels of the usual construction is used on a concrete floor, the wheelspound the floor, causing damage thereto. But with Wheels of theconstruction described above, much less pounding occurs. Also the Wheelsof the invention can sustain blows from any direction, and at all timesthe wheels follow the floor.

While I have shown certain preferred forms of my invention, it is to beunderstood that various changes may be made in its construction by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A structure comprising a wheel, an arm rotatably mounting said wheelat its lower end, spaced inner and outer collars disposed concentricallyand with their common axis perpendicular to the rotary axis of saidwheel, each said collar having an outwardly extending annular flange atits. upper end, said outer collar being supported by said arm at itsupper end, means supporting said inner collar and adapted to mount saidstructure upon a vehicle body and a resilient material disposed in theannular space between said collars and flanges and bonded to said innerand outer collars.

2. In combination, a wheel and a mounting means therefor, said mountingmeans comprising spaced, parallel upper and lower plates, meansrotatably mounted on said upper plate for mounting said mounting meanson a vehicle body, said rotatably mounted means being mounted forrotation about a vertical axis, forks depending from the lower plate andbeing fixedly secured at their upper ends to the lower plate, said wheelbeing rotatably supported by and at the lower ends of the forks forrotation about a horizontal axis displaced laterally from said verticalaxis, and a single annular resilient member disposed between said platesand bonded to said plates to provide the only connection therebetween.

3. In combination, a wheel and a mounting means, therefor, said mountingmeans comprising a spaced pair of rigid annular members. meansrotatablymounted on one of said members for mounting said mounting means on avehicle body, said rotatably mounted means being, mounted for rotationabout avertical axis, forks depending from the other rigid member andbeing fixedly secured at their upper ends to said other rigid member,said wheel being rotatably supported by and at. the lower ends of theforks. for rotation about a horizontal axis displaced laterally fromsaid vertical axis, and a single annular resilient member disposedbetween and bonded to said rigid annular members to provide the onlyconnection therebetween.

4. In combination, a wheel and a mounting means therefor, said mountingmeans comprising spaced inner and outer generally cylindrical rigidmembers, means rotatably mounted on the inner member for mounting saidmounting means on a vehicle body, said rotatably mounting means beingmounted for rotation about a vertical axis, a rigid wheel supportdepending from the outer member, said wheel being rotatably supported 5by and at the lower end of said wheel support for rotation about ahorizontal axis displaced laterally from said vertical axis, and aresilient material disposed between said members and being bonded tosaid members to provide the only connection therebetween.

CARL O. CHRISTENSEN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,230,836 Ballenberg June 26, 1917 Number 5 Name Date SheehyApr. 15, 1924 Roe Sept. 9, 1924 Asher Aug. 20, 1929 Weiland Sept. 1,1936 Herold Mar. 22, 1938 Coyne Feb. 6, 1940 Latshaw Sept. 17, 1940Krotz Feb. 10, 1942 Scuttles June 8, 1948 Clark Apr. 4, 1950

